Pepper bows out of LPGA

Posted: Friday, July 02, 2004

By Associated Press

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - Dottie Pepper's blue eyes, so full of passion and determination in six Solheim Cups and 17 victories on the LPGA Tour, glistened with tears Thursday when she announced her retirement due to injuries that took the joy out of golf.

Pepper, 38, was given a special exemption for the U.S. Women's Open, in part because she had to withdraw the last two years with neck and shoulder injuries. She had to withdraw again this week, went to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and discovered a pinched nerve that caused numbness in her face and down to her shoulder.

Shoulder surgery wiped out all but one tournament in 2002. Recurring problems kept her from being competitive last year. Pepper got a clean slate from the doctor in January and poured in hours on the range to get her game in shape. Instead, she injured her elbow.

''The injuries have been pretty wicked the last four years,'' she said. ''It's just time to move on and do something that doesn't hurt, and is a lot more fun.''

Pepper will work for ESPN and NBC Sports at the Women's Open this week, and is looking for more broadcast opportunities. She also is trying to start a charity event near Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where she grew up, and is looking into an apparel business where she now lives in South Florida.

She said she will fulfill her contract by playing six more LPGA Tour events this year.

Pepper, who twice won the Nabisco Dinah Shore, will end her career six points short of the Hall of Fame.

''I hate to see it because I know how much the Hall of Fame meant to Dottie,'' said Juli Inkster, one of her best friends on tour. ''But I think with her criteria and credentials, sooner or later she'll get there.

''I'm a competitor, but she makes me look pretty docile.''

Pepper's best season was 1992 when she won four times, won the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average, won the money title and was the LPGA player of the year.

Still, she is best known as the American lightning rod in the Solheim Cup.

Pepper painted her nails red, white and blue. One year she dyed her hair red. And she always brought enough emotion for an entire team. She infuriated European players so much in 1998 that they put her picture on a bob bag and took out their frustrations.

But she could do little about the injuries, which sapped her spirit on the course over the last few years.

''The injuries have made a game that was really fun a job,'' she said.